Planning volunteering activities for a specific time in the year can help drive employee engagement
Many Neighbourly clients like to plan volunteering activities for a specific time in the year. It can help drive engagement when participation is encouraged during a set time period, but it needs careful planning and dedicated resources to help make it a success! But don’t fear, your Neighbourly Client Impact Manager will be on hand to guide you through the process and ensure it delivers real, meaningful impact in your local communities.
Watch how it worked for Hays:
How Volunteering Peaks work
Neighbourly requires a minimum of 7 weeks to plan peaks. During this time we will reach out to our network of good causes to ask them to upload volunteering opportunities specifically for your business.
Your Client Impact Manager will work with you to agree on key criteria for your volunteering peak including date ranges, locations, themes (if relevant) and volunteering space allocation.
Timelines
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 |
| Neighbourly reaches out to the good cause network to ask them to upload volunteering opportunities |
Client implements comms plan and shares events internally for sign-ups |
Peak starts | |||||||||
Allow a minimum of 4 weeks to communicate your volunteering peak, sharing events regularly with colleagues and encouraging sign-ups
Communications and top tips!
A robust comms plan plays an important role in making volunteering peaks a success, ensuring we make the most of the spaces made available and drive as many sign-ups as possible.
We have included some templates below, but remember to communicate both how to volunteer and why it’s important, and always include the steps to volunteer, links to the events themselves, and your company volunteering code for ease of sign up.
Utilise charity champions. They could help with an office-based location-targeted approach to your comms so employees receive links to events local to them.
- Use a mix of channels and a variety of formats to reach as many people as possible
- Encourage volunteers to share their stories to motivate and inspire others
- Encourage those who’ve already signed up to promote internally to their colleagues
Resources
Week 8: Launch email template
Make a difference this [insert month]: Join our employee volunteering programme
Hi there,
We’re excited to announce our company-wide volunteering programme in [insert month] in partnership with Neighbourly, offering a valuable opportunity for everyone to support local causes in our communities.
We’ve worked with Neighbourly to arrange a variety of volunteering opportunities throughout [insert month] in each of our employee locations, based on the support that local good causes need the most, enabling us to provide the most meaningful help where it’s truly needed.
This programme offers more than just a chance to volunteer; it’s an opportunity to connect with colleagues in a new way and contribute positively to your community. Let’s work together to make [insert month] a month of positive impact.
Interested in participating? Here’s how to get involved:
- If you haven’t done so already, create your free Neighbourly account [insert link]
- Once you’ve logged into your account, head to the [insert company] campaign page to browse available opportunities. [link directly to events]
- Sign up for an opportunity that works for you and your team using our company code [insert code]
- Reach out to the good cause to introduce yourself and complete a risk assessment.
- If you have any questions, please reach out to the Neighbourly team at community@neighbourly.com
We look forward to seeing the positive impact we can create together this [insert month]. Your time and commitment are greatly appreciated – happy volunteering!
Many thanks,
Week 9: Volunteering case study
Read XXX’s volunteering story
Hi there,
Our month of volunteering is just around the corner and we have XXX spaces left to fill.
To inspire you to sign up and support your local community, we wanted to share XXX’s story.
[Insert case study of previous colleague volunteering via Neighbourly]
To see the opportunities available in your area, click here [insert link], sign up for an opportunity that works for you and your team using our company code [insert code]
If you have any questions, please reach out to the Neighbourly team at community@neighbourly.com
Many thanks,
Week 10: Reminder email template
There’s still time to make a difference in [month]: Join our employee volunteering programme
Hi there,
We’re excited that the [campaign name] volunteer programme is fast approaching!
We’ve had a brilliant response from [company] volunteers so far - responding to the needs of the charities and good causes that need your support the most.
- XXX charities and good causes in our network have created over XXX volunteer events across the UK & Ireland for this campaign!
- Over XXX [company] colleagues have already signed up to volunteer and are getting ready to head out volunteering, so a huge thank you!
With [insert peak month] just around the corner, we really need those of you who have not yet signed up to do so. It’s helpful to give the charities plenty of notice so they can prepare, as they are often under-resourced. There are still over XXX volunteer spaces that need filling.
To get involved in the volunteering effort this [insert month], please head to the [insert name and link] campaign page, search for your location and select ‘volunteer’ on one of the events and enter your company code.
If you need any support, don’t hesitate to contact community@neighbourly.com
Many thanks,
Week 11:
There’s still time to make a difference in [month]: Join our employee volunteering programme
Hi there,
There’s just one week to go until our mega-month of volunteering!
It’s not too late to sign up to support a good cause in your area. To get involved in our volunteering effort this [insert month], please head to the [insert name and link] campaign page, search for your location and select ‘volunteer’ on one of the events and enter your company code.
If you need any support, don’t hesitate to contact community@neighbourly.com
Many thanks,
Week 12:
There’s still time to make a difference in [month]: Join our employee volunteering programme
Hi there,
We’re excited that the [campaign name] volunteer programme is now underway!
This month, over XXX colleagues will be out volunteering in their local communities, supporting XXX charities and good causes across the UK & Ireland.
There is still time to get involved! Please head to the [insert name and link] campaign page, search for your location and select ‘volunteer’ on one of the events and enter your company code.
If you need any support, don’t hesitate to contact community@neighbourly.com
Many thanks,
This material is part of the Neighbourly Volunteer Engagement Success Plan, for use by Neighbourly partners only.